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Joy Keniston-Longrie, Seattle Public Utilities, City of Seattle National Waterways Conference

US Army Corps of Engineers Seattle District. An Innovative Partnership For Regulatory Permitting City of Seattle and US Army Corps of Engineers. Joy Keniston-Longrie, Seattle Public Utilities, City of Seattle National Waterways Conference Portland, Oregon: September 2006.

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Joy Keniston-Longrie, Seattle Public Utilities, City of Seattle National Waterways Conference

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  1. US Army Corps of Engineers Seattle District An Innovative Partnership For Regulatory PermittingCity of Seattle and US Army Corps of Engineers Joy Keniston-Longrie, Seattle Public Utilities, City of Seattle National Waterways Conference Portland, Oregon: September 2006 City of Seattle

  2. Outline • Tool - Water Resource Development Act of 2000 (WRDA) • Seattle, the 1st WRDA agreement nationwide • Workload & Endangered Species Act (ESA) • Our Experience in Implementing WRDA • Where Does the Partnership Go From Here?

  3. How WRDA Works • Corps and non-Federal public entity enter into an agreement • Local agency deposits money in an account • with the Corps • Corps uses money to charge their staff time

  4. Seattle, Washington

  5. City Services

  6. Seattle Seattle Map of State with Seattle’sProject Areas/Property

  7. Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act National Historic Preservation Act Section 404 of the Clean Water Act Endangered Species Act

  8. Number of U.S. Listed Species per Calendar Year 1980-2002 Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

  9. 1999 ESA Listings and Area Affected

  10. 1999 ESA Listings and Area Affected

  11. Seattle District Workload FiguresCumulative Total of all Project Managers’ Pending Actions(IPs, LOPs, NWPs, JDs, Regionals, Mods, Exemptions, No Permit Requireds, After-the-Facts, Suspensions, Violations) 1481 741

  12. WRDA 2000A New Tool to Accelerate USACE Permit Review WRDA 2000 Allowed Corps to Accept Funds to Expedite Prioritize Projects Prioritization Identified by Public Agency Funding WRDA Agreement

  13. City of Seattle/US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)Permit Process Time Approved permits through 2004

  14. Savings on Projects (2001-2004): 103 projects valued @ $278 Million WRDA total cost of $114,000 Estimated $5 Million in avoided costs Reduced project review: Project review went from an average high of 809 days to 132 days per project. Improved predictability:Reduced redesign, better able to maintain scope/schedule/budget. Our Experience with WRDA

  15. Improved communications: One point of contact means…. Improved environmental outcomes:Coordination leads to avoidance and minimization Our Experience with WRDA (cont’d)

  16. Benefits/Considerations in Implementing WRDA • Savings on project design/implementation Hourly review fee by Corps employee • Reduced permitting time/queue time Extra time set up for meetings to establish team dynamics and understanding • Queue time for all applicants reduced Dealing with public perception • Priority projects reviewed first Non-prioritized projects have been put on wayside

  17. Benefits/Considerations in Implementing WRDA (cont’d) • Staff are better educated on Processes and RequirementsInitial internal perceptions needed to be corrected • Improved communications/understandingInvestment in training Staff and developing tools • Improved business processes Costs of culture shifts and redesigning business processes

  18. Keys to Smooth Implementation • Designated Lead City Agency • Establish “Single Point of Contact” for each agency • Develop written expectations during the initial set-up phase • Meet on a Regular Basis (1/month) • Bi-Monthly Informal Pre-Application Meetings • Periodic Site Visits

  19. 14 9 11 15 10 18 Existing WRDA Agreements WRDA Agreement Locations - 2005U.S. Fish and Wildlife ServiceListed Species Range by State/Territory Alaska - 6 Hawaii - 312 Proposed WRDA Agreements

  20. The Future of WRDAStatus of WRDA Section 214 & Sunset Clause • In the original WRDA 2000 legislation, Section 214 had a sunset date of September 2003. • On December 1, 2003, President Bush signed into law the Energy and Water Appropriations bill, H 2754 (Pub.L 108-137), of which Section 114 extended the sunset clause until September 2005. • November 2005 via appropriations, extended until March 31, 2006. On March 24, 2006, President Bush signed a stand alone bill to extend WRDA 214 until December 2006.

  21. The Future of WRDAStatus of WRDA Section 214 & Sunset Clause • The proposed Senate WRDA 2006 Bill eliminates the sunset clause, however, House version extends time through 2007 only…currently in conference. • Minority House staff requested GAO Study through Committee Chair, Audit conducted in August 2006. • GAO report due out in October 2006. • Concern that WRDA finally made it out of Committee, but with GAO Audit Report pending final results, will not eliminate Sunset Clause

  22. Where Does the Corps Go From Here? Lack of Certainty Regarding WRDA Section 214 Has Resulted In Limiting Ability for Corps to…. • Enter into new or extend existing WRDA Agreements • Have certainty regarding WRDA funding • Augment existing resources to implement WRDA Section 214 • Attract, hire and retain qualified staff for WRDA Section 214

  23. Where Does the City of Seattle Go From Here? Similar MOA with USFWS & NMFS • Reference Biological Assessment-Geographic Based • Continue to Improve City of Seattle Business Processes Practices • - Quality Assurance/Quality Control • - Permit Tracking System • - Facilitated Federal Permit Web-Page • - Education • Eliminate WRDA Sunset Clause

  24. Where Does the City of Seattle Go From Here? • Work with Corps to Improve Process: • Lean Sigma 6 Review for NWP’s • Ensure we have NWP’s for 2007 Fish • Friendly Construction Window • Add Stable Resources for Cultural • Resource & Tribal Relationship Needs • Improved Electronic filing & Tracking • More Frequent & More Customer • Friendly WRDA Billing Process/Reports

  25. Where Does the Corps Go From Here? Status of WRDA Agreements Across the Nation • Corps Districts cannot solicit funds for agreements, it can only inform the public that this process is available. • The non-Federal entity has to initiate request to the Corps. • Several Corps Districts are initiating the public notice procedures to establish agreements with Non-Federal entities. • Seattle District is continuing to communicate with its non-Federal partners to improve this process.

  26. Seattle’s Environmental Commitment

  27. Summary • WRDA as a tool • Discussed the Corps workload and ESA • Benefits/Costs of WRDA • Future steps

  28. Questions??? Joy Keniston-Longrie City of Seattle (206) 684-5972 joy.kenistonlongrie@seattle.gov www. seattle.gov/util/corpspermit

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